“Listen, I—”

Before she can go on, I reach out, grab her arm, and yank her towards me. She slams against my chest with a wet slap and a cry.

“What do you take me for?” I demand. “What kind of idiot do you think I am?”

“I did what you asked!”

“Careful, kiska. You don’t want to piss me off.”

“Ow,” she winces as my grip on her arm tightens. “You’re hurting me.”

It’s distracting, the way her nipples are rubbing up against me. But I suppress my desire for her and instead let her see the don I must be.

“Your phone line will be disconnected starting today,” I tell her. “No more family chats for you.”

Her eyes go wide with shock. “What? No! You can’t do that!”

“I can do whatever the fuck I want.”

I push her hand away and she stumbles backwards. As much as I want to stay and undress her with my eyes, then my hands, I turn and start walking away.

“Aleks! You can’t do this.”

“I already have.”

“Please!” she cries, forcing me to a standstill. “Please, I have to be able to talk to them.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you pissed me off.”

“I did what you asked me to do!”

“Bullshit. You want me to hold up my end of the bargain? Then you’ve got to hold up your end, too. Otherwise, get used to being Mrs. Makarova.”

Her eyes go wide with alarm, but I’m not about to take back the threat. I turn and walk away, and as I go, I realize that, deep down…

Part of me is hoping she’ll fail.